She was cleaning out her house when she found a brown, cardboard box. It was the one that she brought with her to California. Reaching inside, she fished out a battered, brown leather-skin, journal with her name “Xiao Hong” written at the bottom. Tucking a strand of white hair behind her ear, she flipped open the journal and was transported back to He Bei 1966; back to the times of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, a revolution that ended more than 20 years ago. Please read my journal.

Many things stayed the same. Before the Cultural Revolution, China was a communist country with leaders that praised and promoted Karl Marx’s ideals. After the revolution, communist leaders were still in charge of China which continued to this day. Another example is that there were power struggles amongst the political party before and after the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution since it is believed by historians that Mao might have started the revolution due to his diminishing influence within the party, suggesting that there is power struggle. Lastly, China’s leader had absolute control of the country before and after the Cultural Revolution. Before the revolution, Mao had utter control over China and the same remained even until today.